Distributed Computing: First online game to reward its players in-game for volunteering to help...

...hard scientific research projects which use distributed computing. The game enables players to join distributed computing (DC) projects at its sign-in screen and automatically downloads the selected DC project, running it when the game isn’t being played, and rewarding the player with an in-game reward (like in-game money) for each unit he processes for the DC project. Players can enlist more than one computer in their aim to help a DC project and can be rewarded by the online game for doing so. If the game allows players to join player guilds, the game tracks and promotes guilds’ contributions to DC projects. If players can have more than one character in the game, the in-game reward earned and displayed at sign-in goes to the first character they load in the game. To win this challenge, cipher, trading, and non-hard-science DC projects (such as SETI) cannot be offered as one of the DC projects for the online game.

Future Challenges: First annual computer game awards ceremony (must be televised on a broadcast or cable TV network OR broadcast live over the Internet) to give an on-air award to the online game whose players:

1) Contributed the most units processed for hard scientific distributed computing projects in the last year.

2) On average, contributed the most units processed for hard scientific distributed computing projects in the last year. [This enables small online games to compete against the big games and win an award.]

First Internet radio talk show host to champion this challenge and:

3) Get the CEO of a computer gaming company which currently has an online game to discuss the original challenge and be in favor of it.

4) Get the CEO of a computer gaming company which currently has an online game to come onto their show and officially announce or confirm that they are implementing the original challenge.

5) Do a live broadcast from WITHIN a game that has done the original challenge.

Discussion:
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